The 1996 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Howell Heflin decided to retire. RepublicanJeff Sessions won the open seat, becoming the first of his party to win this seat since Reconstruction in 1868 and only the second Republican ever to be popularly elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama.
The swearing-in or the inauguration of Jeff Sessions marked the first time since 1871 that Republicans simultaneously held both Senate seats. This was the first time ever that a Republican won a full term to this Senate seat.
Since 1980, conservative Alabama voters have increasingly voted for Republican candidates at the Federal level, especially in Presidential elections. By contrast, Democratic candidates have been elected to many state-level offices and, until 2010, comprised a longstanding majority in the Alabama Legislature.
Three-term incumbentHowell Heflin decided not to seek re-election. A 75-year-old moderate-to-conservative Democrat, Heflin was re-elected in 1990 with over 60% of the vote. Until 2017, Richard Shelby’s 1992 victory was the last time Democrats won a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama; Shelby later became a Republican in 1994.
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